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Sarah-jayne Blakemore - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Beyond the Average Brain: Individual Differences in Social Brain Development are Associated with Friendship Quality.
    Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2020
    Co-Authors: Andrik I Becht, Sarah-jayne Blakemore, Lara M. Wierenga, Kathryn L. Mills, Rosa Meuwese, Anna C. K. Van Duijvenvoorde, Berna Güroğlu, Eveline A. Crone
    Abstract:

    We tested whether adolescents differ from each other in the structural development of the Social Brain, and whether individual differences in Social Brain development predicted variability in friendship quality development. Adolescents (N = 299, Mage T1 = 13.98 years) were followed across three bi-annual waves. We analysed self-reported friendship quality with the best friend at T1 and T3, and bilateral measures of surface area and cortical thickness of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), and precuneus across all waves. At the group level, growth curve models confirmed non-linear decreases of surface area and cortical thickness in Social Brain regions. We identified substantial individual differences in levels and change rates of Social Brain regions, especially for surface area of the mPFC, pSTS, and TPJ. Change rates of cortical thickness varied less between persons. Higher levels of mPFC surface area and cortical thickness predicted stronger increases in friendship quality over time. Moreover, faster cortical thinning of mPFC surface area predicted a stronger increase in friendship quality. Higher levels of TPJ cortical thickness predicted lower friendship quality. Together, our results indicate heterogeneity in Social Brain development and how this variability uniquely predicts friendship quality development.

  • Development of the Social Brain in adolescence
    2015
    Co-Authors: Sarah-jayne Blakemore
    Abstract:

    The Brain has evolved to understand and interact with other people. We are increasingly learning more about the neurophysiological basis of Social cognition and what is known as the Social Brain, that is, the network of Brain regions involved in understanding others’ minds. This chapter focuses on how the Social Brain develops during adolescence. Adolescence is a time characterised by change-hormonally, physically, psychologically and Socially. In the past 15 years or so, research has started to focus on how the Brain develops in adolescence. Large-scale structural magnetic resonance imaging studies have demonstrated development during adolescence in white matter and grey matter volumes in several Brain regions. Brain imaging studies of Social cognition have shown changes between adolescence and adulthood in activity in the Social Brain during a variety of Social and affective tasks. Recent behavioural studies have shown that Social cognitive behaviour and metacognitive ability also develop in adolescence.

  • Development of the Social Brain in adolescence
    Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2012
    Co-Authors: Sarah-jayne Blakemore
    Abstract:

    The Brain has evolved to understand and interact with other people. We are increasingly learning more about the neurophysiological basis of Social cognition and what is known as the Social Brain, that is the network of Brain regions involved in understanding others. This paper focuses on how the Social Brain develops during adolescence. Adolescence is a time characterized by change – hormonally, physically, psychologically and Socially. Yet until recently this period of life was neglected by cognitive neuroscience. In the past decade, research has shown that the Brain develops both structurally and functionally during adolescence. Large-scale structural MRI studies have demonstrated development during adolescence in white matter and grey matter volumes in regions within the Social Brain. Activity in some of these regions, as measured using fMRI, also shows changes between adolescence and adulthood during Social cognition tasks. I will also present evidence that theory of mind usage is still developing late in adolescence. Finally, I will speculate on potential implications of this research for society.

  • The Social Brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies
    Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 2010
    Co-Authors: Stephanie Burnett, Kathrin Cohen Kadosh, Catherine L. Sebastian, Sarah-jayne Blakemore
    Abstract:

    Social cognition is the collection of cognitive processes required to understand and interact with others. The term ‘Social Brain’ refers to the network of Brain regions that underlies these processes. Recent evidence suggests that a number of Social cognitive functions continue to develop during adolescence, resulting in age differences in tasks that assess cognitive domains including face processing, mental state inference and responding to peer influence and Social evaluation. Concurrently, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies show differences between adolescent and adult groups within parts of the Social Brain. Understanding the relationship between these neural and behavioural observations is a challenge. This review discusses current research findings on adolescent Social cognitive development and its functional MRI correlates, then integrates and interprets these findings in the context of hypothesised developmental neurocognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms.

  • The developing Social Brain: implications for education.
    Neuron, 2010
    Co-Authors: Sarah-jayne Blakemore
    Abstract:

    This paper discusses the development of the human Social Brain. First, I will argue that Social cognition is uniquely important and describe evidence that Social interaction plays a critical role in early Brain development. I will then discuss recent research demonstrating that the Social Brain undergoes protracted development and that adolescence in particular represents a period of reorganization of the Social Brain. Finally, I will attempt to draw out potential implications of this new research for education policy and for human wellbeing.

Meghan L Meyer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • self other representation in the Social Brain reflects Social connection
    The Journal of Neuroscience, 2020
    Co-Authors: Andrea L Courtney, Meghan L Meyer
    Abstract:

    Social connection is critical to well-being, yet how the Brain reflects our attachment to other people remains largely unknown. We combined univariate and multivariate Brain imaging analyses to assess whether and how the Brain organizes representations of others based on how connected they are to our own identity. During an fMRI scan, female and male human participants (N=43) completed a self- and other-reflection task for 16 targets: the self, five close others, five acquaintances, and five celebrities. In addition, they reported their subjective closeness to each target and their own trait loneliness. We examined neural responses to the self and others in a Brain region that has been associated with self-representation (medial prefrontal cortex; MPFC) and across the whole Brain. The structure of self-other representation in the MPFC and across the Social Brain appeared to cluster targets into three Social categories: the self, Social network members (including close others and acquaintances), and celebrities. Moreover, both univariate activation in MPFC and multivariate self-other similarity in MPFC and across the Social Brain increased with subjective self-other closeness ratings. Critically, participants who were less Socially connected (i.e. lonelier) showed altered self-other mapping in Social Brain regions. Most notably, in MPFC, loneliness was associated with reduced representational similarity between the self and others. The Social Brain apparently maintains information about broad Social categories as well as closeness to the self. Moreover, these results point to the possibility that feelings of chronic Social disconnection may be mirrored by a 'lonelier' neural self-representation.Significance StatementSocial connection is critical to well-being, yet how the Brain reflects our attachment to people remains unclear. We found that the Social Brain stratifies neural representations of people based on our subjective connection to them, separately clustering people who are and are not in our Social network. Moreover, the people we feel closest to are represented most closely to ourselves. Finally, lonelier individuals also appeared to have a 'lonelier' neural self-representation in the MPFC, as loneliness attenuated the closeness between self and other neural representations in this region. The Social Brain appears to map our interpersonal ties, and alterations in this map may help explain why lonely individuals endorse statements such as 'people are around me but not with me.'

  • Self-Other Representation in the Social Brain Reflects Social Connection.
    The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 2020
    Co-Authors: Andrea L Courtney, Meghan L Meyer
    Abstract:

    Social connection is critical to well-being, yet how the Brain reflects our attachment to other people remains largely unknown. We combined univariate and multivariate Brain imaging analyses to assess whether and how the Brain organizes representations of others based on how connected they are to our own identity. During an fMRI scan, female and male human participants (N = 43) completed a self- and other-reflection task for 16 targets: the self, five close others, five acquaintances, and five celebrities. In addition, they reported their subjective closeness to each target and their own trait loneliness. We examined neural responses to the self and others in a Brain region that has been associated with self-representation (mPFC) and across the whole Brain. The structure of self-other representation in the mPFC and across the Social Brain appeared to cluster targets into three Social categories: the self, Social network members (including close others and acquaintances), and celebrities. Moreover, both univariate activation in mPFC and multivariate self-other similarity in mPFC and across the Social Brain increased with subjective self-other closeness ratings. Critically, participants who were less Socially connected (i.e., lonelier) showed altered self-other mapping in Social Brain regions. Most notably, in mPFC, loneliness was associated with reduced representational similarity between the self and others. The Social Brain apparently maintains information about broad Social categories as well as closeness to the self. Moreover, these results point to the possibility that feelings of chronic Social disconnection may be mirrored by a "lonelier" neural self-representation.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Social connection is critical to well-being, yet how the Brain reflects our attachment to people remains unclear. We found that the Social Brain stratifies neural representations of people based on our subjective connection to them, separately clustering people who are and are not in our Social network. Moreover, the people we feel closest to are represented most closely to ourselves. Finally, lonelier individuals also appeared to have a "lonelier" neural self-representation in the mPFC, as loneliness attenuated the similarity between self and other neural representations in this region. The Social Brain appears to map our interpersonal ties, and alterations in this map may help explain why lonely individuals endorse statements such as "people are around me but not with me."

  • self other representation in the Social Brain reflects Social connection
    bioRxiv, 2019
    Co-Authors: Andrea L Courtney, Meghan L Meyer
    Abstract:

    Social connection is critical to well-being, yet how the Brain reflects our attachment to other people remains largely unknown. We combined univariate and multivariate Brain imaging analyses to assess whether and how the Brain organizes representations of others based on how connected they are to our own identity. During an fMRI scan, participants (N=43) completed a self- and other-reflection task for 16 targets: the self, five close others, five acquaintances, and five celebrities. In addition, they reported their subjective closeness to each target and their own trait loneliness. We examined neural responses to the self and others in a Brain region that has been associated with self-representation (medial prefrontal cortex; MPFC) and across the whole Brain. The structure of self-other representation in the MPFC and across the Social Brain appeared to cluster targets into three Social categories: the self, Social network members (including close others and acquaintances), and celebrities. Moreover, both univariate activation in MPFC and multivariate self-other similarity in MPFC and across the Social Brain increased with subjective self-other closeness ratings. Critically, participants who were less Socially connected (i.e. lonelier) showed altered self-other mapping in Social Brain regions. Most notably, in MPFC, loneliness was associated with reduced representational similarity between the self and others. The Social Brain apparently maintains information about broad Social categories as well as closeness to the self. Moreover, these results point to the possibility that feelings of chronic Social disconnection may be mirrored by a ‘lonelier’ neural self-representation. Significance Statement Social connection is critical to well-being, yet how the Brain reflects our attachment to people remains unclear. We found that the Social Brain stratifies neural representations of people based on our subjective connection to them, separately clustering people who are and are not in our Social network. Moreover, the people we feel closest to are represented most closely to ourselves. Finally, lonelier individuals also appeared to have a ‘lonelier’ neural self-representation in the MPFC, as loneliness attenuated the closeness between self and other neural representations in this region. The Social Brain appears to map our interpersonal ties, and alterations in this map may help explain why lonely individuals endorse statements such as ‘people are around me but not with me’.

Robin I. M. Dunbar - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Religion, the Social Brain and the mystical stance:
    Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 2020
    Co-Authors: Robin I. M. Dunbar
    Abstract:

    This article explores the implications of the Social Brain and the endorphin-based bonding mechanism that underpins it for the evolution of religion. I argue that religion evolved as one of the beh...

  • The Social Brain Hypothesis and Human Evolution
    Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2016
    Co-Authors: Robin I. M. Dunbar
    Abstract:

    Primate societies are unusually complex compared to those of other animals, and the need to manage such complexity is the main explanation for the fact that primates have unusually large Brains. Primate Sociality is based on bonded relationships that underpin coalitions, which in turn are designed to buffer individuals against the Social stresses of living in large, stable groups. This is reflected in a correlation between Social group size and neocortex size in primates (but not other species of animals), commonly known as the Social Brain hypothesis, although this relationship itself is the outcome of an underlying relationship between Brain size and behavioral complexity. The relationship between Brain size and group size is mediated, in humans at least, by mentalizing skills. Neuropsychologically, these are all associated with the size of units within the theory of mind network (linking prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe units). In addition, primate Sociality involves a dual-process mechanism whereby the endorphin system provides a psychopharmacological platform off which the cognitive component is then built. This article considers the implications of these findings for the evolution of human cognition over the course of hominin evolution.

  • What’s So Social About the Social Brain?
    New Frontiers in Social Neuroscience, 2013
    Co-Authors: Robin I. M. Dunbar
    Abstract:

    In trying to understand the neurobiology of Sociality, we face a problem over the kinds of behavioural indices we can use in experiments. The focus of most research has been on economic games or the socio-cognitive processes involved in dyadic interactions (e.g., theory of mind or proSocial/altruistic behaviour). These largely reflect causal interactions between strangers. However, the nature of primate (and hence human) Sociality, as reflected in the Social Brain hypothesis, is more complex and involves long-term bonded relationships that allow individuals to maintain several Social layers in their network simultaneously. Identifying suitable tests that can be used in either cognitive or neuroimaging experiments is challenging.

  • The Social Brain meets neuroimaging
    Trends in cognitive sciences, 2011
    Co-Authors: Robin I. M. Dunbar
    Abstract:

    Recent neuroimaging studies in humans have indicated that individual differences in Social network size correlate with amygdala volume and the volume of Brain regions associated with theory of mind. A new article demonstrates that this is also true for monkeys. Taken together, these findings provide crucial support for the Social Brain hypothesis.

  • Social Brain, Distributed Mind
    2010
    Co-Authors: Robin I. M. Dunbar, Clive Gamble, John Gowlett
    Abstract:

    FRAMING THE ISSUES: EVOLUTION OF THE Social Brain THE NATURE OF NETWORK: BONDS OF SocialITY EVOLVING BONDS OF SocialITY THE REACH OF THE Brain: MODERN HUMANS AND DISTRIBUTED MINDS TESTING THE PAST: ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE Social Brain IN PAST ACTION

Jeremy Hall - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Jonathan K Burns - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • The Social Brain hypothesis of schizophrenia.
    World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), 2006
    Co-Authors: Jonathan K Burns
    Abstract:

    The Social Brain hypothesis is a useful heuristic for understanding schizophrenia. It focuses attention on the core Bleulerian concept of autistic alienation and is consistent with well-replicated findings of Social Brain dysfunction in schizophrenia as well as contemporary theories of human cognitive and Brain evolution. The contributions of Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Wittgenstein allow us to arrive at a new "philosophy of interpersonal relatedness", which better reflects the "embodied mind" and signifies the end of Cartesian dualistic thinking. In this paper I review the evolution, development and neurobiology of the Social Brain - the anatomical and functional substrate for adaptive Social behaviour and cognition. Functional imaging identifies fronto-temporal and fronto-parietal cortical networks as comprising the Social Brain, while the discovery of "mirror neurons" provides an understanding of Social cognition at a cellular level. Patients with schizophrenia display abnormalities in a wide range of Social cognition tasks such as emotion recognition, theory of mind and affective responsiveness. Furthermore, recent research indicates that schizophrenia is a disorder of functional and structural connectivity of Social Brain networks. These findings lend support to the claim that schizophrenia represents a costly by-product of Social Brain evolution in Homo sapiens. Individuals with this disorder find themselves seriously disadvantaged in the Social arena and vulnerable to the stresses of their complex Social environments. This state of "disembodiment" and interpersonal alienation is the core phenomenon of schizophrenia and the root cause of intolerable suffering in the lives of those affected.

  • an evolutionary theory of schizophrenia cortical connectivity metarepresentation and the Social Brain
    Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2004
    Co-Authors: Jonathan K Burns
    Abstract:

    Schizophrenia is a worldwide, prevalent disorder with a multifactorial but highly genetic aetiology. A constant prevalence rate in the face of reduced fecundity has caused some to argue that an evolutionary advantage exists in unaffected relatives. Here, I critique this adaptationist approach, and review - and find wanting - Crow's "speciation" hypothesis. In keeping with available biological and psychological evidence, I propose an alternative theory of the origins of this disorder. Schizophrenia is a disorder of the Social Brain, and it exists as a costly trade-off in the evolution of complex Social cognition. Paleoanthropological and comparative primate research sug- gests that hominids evolved complex cortical interconnectivity (in particular, frontotemporal and frontoparietal circuits) to regulate so- cial cognition and the intellectual demands of group living. I suggest that the ontogenetic mechanism underlying this cerebral adapta- tion was sequential hypermorphosis and that it rendered the hominid Brain vulnerable to genetic and environmental insults. I argue that changes in genes regulating the timing of neurodevelopment occurred prior to the migration of Homo sapiens out of Africa 100,000- 150,000 years ago, giving rise to the schizotypal spectrum. While some individuals within this spectrum may have exhibited unusual cre- ativity and iconoclasm, this phenotype was not necessarily adaptive in reproductive terms. However, because the disorder shared a com- mon genetic basis with the evolving circuitry of the Social Brain, it persisted. Thus schizophrenia emerged as a costly trade-off in the evo- lution of complex Social cognition.

  • Elaborating the Social Brain hypothesis of schizophrenia
    Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2004
    Co-Authors: Jonathan K Burns
    Abstract:

    I defend the case for an evolutionary theory of schizophrenia and the Social Brain, arguing that such an exercise necessitates a broader methodology than that familiar to neuroscience. I propose a reworked evolutionary genetic model of schizophrenia, drawing on insights from commentators, buttressing my claim that psychosis is a costly consequence of sophisticated Social cognition in humans. Expanded models of Social Brain anatomy and the spectrum of psychopathologies are presented in terms of upper and lower Social Brain and top-down and bottom-up processes. Finally, I argue that cerebral asymmetry evolved as an emergent property of primary intrahemispheric reorganisation in hominoids.

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